E3 2007: StarCraft II Progress Report

Share.

Still waiting for BlizzCon...

By Charles Onyett

Blizzard was on hand at E3 2007 to show off StarCraft II, but it seems they're keeping most of the new features and information under wraps until this year's BlizzCon, where the first opportunity to go hands-on with the game will take place. Blizzard was unwilling to unveil precisely what kind of hands-on will be available, meaning whether it'll be networked play, a single player skirmish, or a mission from one of the campaigns. They also wouldn't divulge whether BlizzCon will be the venue for revealing more units from the Terran and Zerg factions. What they did have was information on the Protoss' Soul Hunter, Tempest, Twilight Archon, and Phase Cannon units and buildings. As with the rest of the information released so far, this all pertained to the Protoss.

The Soul Hunter is a Tier 2 unit, meaning it can't be built until a little later on in a game. According to Blizzard it works as an anti-infantry unit. With each kill the Soul Hunter's weapons will upgrade up to three times, changes that will be represented visually. Then there's the Phase Cannon, a defensive structure unit that not only defends bases with energy shots but can actually get up and walk around. They shift into energy beings and set down anywhere there's a phase field active to resume its projectile attacks. This should be good news for anyone afraid StarCraft II's tier-traversing units may become too powerful, as it allows for dynamic perimeter defenses. It should also be useful with base assaults, as you can progressively move the Phase Cannons into entrenched enemy positions using the Protoss' mobile phase fields.

For air assaults, the Protoss get the Tempest, a unit Blizzard says is similar to the Carrier of the first game. It has Shuriken units, instead of the Carrier's Interceptors, that fly out of it to attack the enemy. There's also a strong anti-ground shield keeping the ship insulated against attacks from the floor, be it mobile units or static base defenses, but it has no shields at all against air units. Micromanagement has been made a little easier for these guys as their Interceptors can be auto-built with a right click. This is in contrast to the Reavers and Carriers from the first game, whose Scarabs and Interceptors had to be built with a click for every one. Finally there's the Twilight Archon, which can be constructed by fusing together two High Templar, two Dark Templar, or one of each flavor. So far it works like the Archon unit from the first StarCraft, but Blizzard is still figuring out exactly what kinds of abilities it'll have.

In terms of how the game plays, Blizzard would only say they're really happy with what's been done so far. Of course they are. We really can't say anything more as we still have yet to play it, so it seems like we're stuck waiting for BlizzCon. Tony Hsu, an associate producer for the game, did comment briefly on how a game will play out. From the Protoss' Gateway manufacturing plant will come the basic Zealot units on the Protoss side, but from there on out the construction options greatly vary. The next tier construction building, a Twilight Counsel, can pump out Soul Hunters, the Immortal, or a Stalker. Stalkers are quick-moving scout units, Immortals are best for siege tactics, and the Soul Hunters can effectively strike against enemy infantry.

Blizzard is currently playing 1 v 1s, 2 v 2s, and 4 v 4s internally. According to Hsu, "It feels very much like StarCraft 1 in regards to the flavor of the game, the way the game plays. But there's so many new mechanics in regards to cliff-walking&#Array;that it adds so many new dynamics that it feels very much like a new game as well." In terms of hardware requirements, Blizzard is still saying 128 MB of dedicated video RAM and Pixel Shader 2.0 for Mac and PC. No release date as of yet.